


A Crown That Seldom Kings Enjoy

by Unreal_Kitty



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Brothers, Friendship, Gen, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Mid-Credits Scene, Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2017-12-26
Packaged: 2019-02-20 16:37:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13150668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Unreal_Kitty/pseuds/Unreal_Kitty
Summary: [Spoilers for Thor: Ragnarok)Thor's coronation doesn't much resemble the splendid affair planned for the next king of Asgard.  Loki, of course, has a few words to say on the subject.





	A Crown That Seldom Kings Enjoy

**Author's Note:**

> Set just before the mid-credits scene in Thor Ragnarok.

The King of Asgard looked to the stars. In recent years, he found himself doing so more and more. Searching for his fallen brother, his distant love, his slain mother, all lost amid stars and dust.

Now his father had joined the queen, his love had turned away, and his brother — well, Loki always had a talent for eluding expectations.

Speak of the devil. Or trickster.

Loki padded to his brother's side. Thor remained facing the vast window of the Ark. Loki mirrored his stance, his face illuminated in starlight.

"So, the big day finally came. Your coronation. I know it's not what you were expecting." He risked a quick glance, searching for a flicker of amusement.

He wasn't disappointed. "At least this time, someone didn't ruin it with a horde of frost giants.”  
  
"It wasn't a horde."  
  
Thor smiled ruefully. A silence hung between the brothers. Thor chewed on the memory, while Loki squirmed beneath its weight.

"I meant what I said, you know," he started again. "I still loved you, envious as I was."

"Hence the squadron of jotun, instead of a horde," replied Thor.

Loki hid his disappointment that Thor had turned the tables. It used to be Loki who'd kill a moment of sincerity with a witty barb. Who would serve as sincerity's advocate, if not Thor?  
  
"A joke? Why brother, I think I've finally rubbed off on you."

"Says the pot to the kettle."

Loki frowned. "What was that?"

"Just something they say on Midgard."

Loki tilted his head and barked a short laugh utterly devoid of genuine mirth.

"Ah, Midgard. I wonder, what will those friends of yours say when they learn of your new position?

"They'll give me grief for not inviting them to the coronation," said Thor. "Especially since this one was frost-giant free."

Loki's smile disappeared."Not quite," he muttered, almost to himself.

Thor finally turned fully to face his brother, shooting him a harsh look, but saying nothing.

"It wasn't entirely devoid of frost giants," Loki added. He stared Thor directly in the eye, a challenge.  
  
Thor broke away. "Oh that..." He drew a quick, uncomfortable breath. "I forgot—"

"How easy for you to forget," Loki interrupted, his voice tinged with acid. "It must be nice that at the end of the day, you don't have to look into a mirror at a false face."

Thor's infamous temper surfaced like a sudden explosion of thunder. "That’s enough, Loki! I’ve had it with your theatrics. No one cares, you know that? So you were born a frost giant. What of it? It's not the end of the world. Norns, we've just lived through the end of the world!"

Loki opened his mouth, drawing in a deep breath to fuel his impending rebuttal. But Thor wasn't finished. The past few years had brought him much to say to his little brother and little opportunity to do so. "Besides, I sat through that play of yours. You proclaimed your heritage to the entire realm. Did anyone draw back in disgust? Did the audience boo your character off the stage? No! They wept for their fallen prince. _The Tragedy of Loki_." He spit out the title with such sarcasm, both brothers seemed unnerved for a moment. The tone of voice sounded more at home in Loki's mouth than in Thor's.

Loki recovered first, and softly remarked, "But you forget something, brother."

"What is that?" asked Thor, still annoyed.

"I was dead."

When Thor didn't respond, Loki continued, gazing at his star-flecked reflection in the window. "Loki Liesmith. Loki Silvertongue. The God of Mischief. Not the most flattering of monikers." He turned back to his brother. "I was never like you, Thor. I was never allowed to be the hero until I was dead."

"Loki," Thor started.

"I'm The Storyteller, brother. That's what it means to be God of Lies. I create the legends, but I don't get to live them."  
  
Thor shook his head with a small but proud smile. "That's not what I saw today. Hela had me pinned to the parapet, the Einherjar were slaughtered, and our people were surrounded by a horde of undead warriors on one side and that ridiculously large wolf on the other. It didn't look good. It really looked like we were done for. But at the final hour, who comes flying to the rescue?" He punched Loki's shoulder. "Loki, Savior of Asgard!"  
  
The savior in question raised one dark eyebrow, but couldn't quite conceal the grin threatening to quirk about his mouth. "You're laying it on a little thick."  
  
"Hey, I'm just telling it like it happened." Thor paused, recalling the triumphant sight of Loki emerging from the mist as he posed on the Ark. "Loki Light-Bringer. My little brother returned to save the day, and I knew we were going to win. Who could possibly stop us, the sons of Odin fighting side by side once more?"

Loki laughed. "I destroyed Asgard. How is that winning?"

"You didn't destroy Asgard. Just the planet. Besides, I ordered you to."

"Ordered me? I don't think so. Suggested maybe. Gave me the inkling my efforts wouldn't go unappreciated." Loki flashed his classic vulpine grin. "You can't order me to do anything."  
  
"Well, I am your king now."

Loki snorted. "You're my brother, first. I don't have to listen to you. In fact..." He drew himself up, chin high. "It's my job not to always listen to you."

Thor groaned and rolled his eyes. Loki pressed a closed fist over his heart and sank into a mocking bow. "I, Loki Odinson, vow to always tell you when you're being an idiot. As prince of Asgard, it shall be, as it always has been, my solemn duty to rescue our king from himself."

"Hey!"

"Every foolish decision to storm enemy territory, I will be there. Every social gaff committed due to shivving off our diplomacy lessons to spar with Hogun, I will be there."

"That's enough, Loki."

"For every faux pax, clumsy blunder, and misguided bungle, I will be there to point out his grievous idiocy. I will be— ow!"

Loki crossly rubbed his shoulder where Thor had clouted him.

"I said, that's enough," Thor said more sternly.

Loki's fox-grin resurfaced. "I suppose you're not much of a kettle after all."

"Hmm?"

"The Midgarian expression? I haven't seemed to have rubbed off on you as much as I thought. You still can't take a joke."  
  
Thor looked at Loki for a moment, then boomed a true laugh. His brother soon joined him.

Eventually, the brothers settled down, but the tension that hummed beneath their interactions since Thor had attempted to swipe Loki from SHIELD's plane had lessened a bit.

"I'm going to hold you to your word, you know," said Thor, carefully casual. He didn't quite meet Loki's eyes.

"And here I thought you were finally beginning to grow wise," quipped Loki.

"Loki." Thor's invocation of his brother's name echoed with the weight of an edict. "You just vowed you'd be at my side to call out my every mistake. I expect to make a lot of those." His lips slid into a sly grin. "So I guess you're not going anywhere, brother."

Loki covered his shock of being outfoxed by Thor, God of Artlessness, with an irritable joke. "I'm not sure how I feel about this new, wittier Thor."  
  
"Get used to him. He spends a lot of time in the company of Tony Stark."  
  
"Ah yes," Loki replied in a somewhat acidic tone. "The iron man with the silver tongue."  
  
"Why brother, is that a note of jealousy I hear?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

Thor smiled at his brother, fondly. "No one could ever replace you for wit, my Lord Fox. Besides, the two of you have a lot in common. I think you could become the best of companions if you spent more time with him."

Loki barked a surprised but genuine laugh. "Yes, I'm sure he'll welcome me with open arms, all attempts at defenestration forgotten."

"You'd be surprised, brother. They're a forgiving sort."

"Hence the name, Avengers."  
  
Thor frowned. "I think SHIELD came up with the name."  
  
"I suppose it's superior to Revengers."

"You heard that?" Thor groaned.

"Yep," said Loki cheerfully, grinning like a jackal.

"I don't suppose I could order you to keep that bit of information to yourself," Thor ventured.

"Alas, my solemnly sworn vow forbids me from obliging you."

Thor frowned, concerned. Brotherly teasing was all well and good, but he had a people to lead through trying times ahead. He'd rather them not think their new king a buffoon.

Loki sensed his distress and relented. "You can't order me to keep quiet. But if you were simply to ask it of me, I suppose I could overlook this particular act of stupidity."  
  
"Good man," said Thor, thumping Loki's shoulder.

"Though now that I think about it, are you sure you don't want me to tell this little story to your Midgarian companions?" Loki's eyes positively sparkled, blazing with mischief. "A little reminder that you're the same bumbling oaf beneath the crown?"

"Thank you, brother, but that's not necessary. You could just describe my shoddy coronation. The next king of Asgard crowned on the bridge of a stolen ship of refugees, as his people fled the remains of his demolished realm."  
  
"Oh, that's not how I'd describe it," said Loki, his voice soft.

"Oh?" Thor challenged.

"No." Loki's gaze was distant. "I'd wait until we found a dimly lit room, preferably with a fireplace crackling happily as it casts shadows on the walls. Then I'd tell of the long-awaited ascension of the next king of Asgard. Thor, God of Thunder, took his place on a great throne that overlooked the universe, with the stars themselves in attendance, surrounded by the entire population of Asgard.”

Thor shot Loki a skeptical look.

"What? It's not untrue."

"It's a fiction in spirit and you know it."

The God of Stories clasped his brother's shoulder. "Ah, but what a fiction it is." 


End file.
